The Lost Season

[Tony L.]

As I reflect on the trajectory of some corps this season, I find myself going back to the lost season of DCI.  By lost, I am referring to the non-judged season.

I attended that weekend and at the time I came away with a few opinions:

1.  The Cadets had stopped the fall.  It was a fantastic show that really built a huge fan response.  It had to help the development of where they are now.  

2.  The Troopers would have made Finals that year regardless of the fact that several corps were not present.  It was clear that they had a new approach and it worked!

3.  The Mandarins showed their continued growth and made it clear that they were not going anywhere.  I loved this show.

4.  Phantom Regiment announced that it was was back as a real player moving forward.  Great way to build from that foundation.

From that year I can see the growth of these four corps and here they are in 2023.  Who knows where they go from here!

Edited August 8, 2023 by Tony L.

[Tim K]

I consider 2020 the lost season. I can recall in 2020 two times I really missed drum corps: one being when I would have been in Allentown, the other Indy. I was going to be moving in September of that year and I hate pitching junk, organizing, and packing. I kept thinking I should be in Indy or Pennsylvania right now. 

I loved 2021. With the exception of some day trips, I hadn’t traveled out of state since 2019 so going to the airport, getting on a plane, and staying in a hotel was fun. The shows were great, the mood in Indy was easy going, and I appreciated the effort of each corps that participated, while also understanding why some corps chose not to participate. For some of the WC corps there would not have been a 2022 if there was not a 2021. OC was very hard hit by so many corps not participating. They understandably could not afford to do so, but it set a few corps back. One OC director told me returning to the field in 2022 was more difficult than the early years of the corps and they’re starting all over again.